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Hey everybody,
I never thought this would happen to me. The other day i was walking to school after going to the store. (Coffee ) and this guy was parked in the corner in the parking lot. First of all, there were no other cars around and this guy was parked in the middle of no where in the parking lot. His car was off. As soon as i walked past him he turned his car on. He pulled out and drove up to me, asked me if i wanted a ride to school. First of all, this guy had to be 18-20 years old, DEFINITLY not your high school senior or for that matter high school student. I hate to use the stereotype but he looked liked he lived in the projects. He had an OLD shirt on and broken in jeans (holes in the knees) As soon as he drove up to me i'm like " OH! Punk band Rocker" he pulled up and said " hey kid you want a ride to school?" I was suspicous from the start and his image didn't help the situation either. I said no and so he pulled out of the parking lot, pulled into another parking lot across the street and did a U-turn. THEN he came right back across the street and into the exact same parking lot and parked into the exact same parking space he was in before. Ok. This is where i would say, oooo he's got his hunting spot. The reason i'm saying this is what if he had tried to force me into the car. I know a few joint locks and wrist techiniques. The arm bar might have helped if he grabbed me. But this just makes me want to learn more. I never thought i would be put into this situation. You know you just think it would never happen to you. I want to learn more and just feel safe if i was ever put into this situation again.
Sayonara,
Justin Gaar

Yes I did. On the way back to school theres an elementary school. Theres usually an SRO (Student Resource Officer, a cop) at that elementary school parked out front. Unfortunatly she was not there.
But yes i did tell the cops and i'm letting you all know that these kinds of people are out there

If you arrest a mime, do you have tell him he has the right to remain silent?

I think one of the most important aspects of your training is learning to be aware of yourself, your surroundings, and possible dangers in the environment. Predators like the one described above are not always easily seen, so part of good training is learning to be more sensitive to these things. In my last job (Corrections Treatment Counselor) I also provided the new correctional officers with training in mental health issues of the inmates. I would always suggest that if the hair on the back of their neck is standing up when they are talking to a particular individual that they should pay attention to this and not ignore it, that this is a natural defensive system that can be very valuable. I have become more mindful of where I am and what is around me (partly b/c working in a prison conditions healthy paranioa ) as a regular part of my training outside of the dojo walls.

The best you can do is exactly what you did: get the hell away from them. Taking aikido classes will always give you tools to use, but it's never a "for sure" deal that you'll be safe. No one is ever truly safe. People like that are everywhere in the world.

I can't say I've ever experienced exactly what you did, but other attacks. Leaving is always the best answer. Once a problem is started, fight for all you are worth. Report to the police and parents in the area to make them aware is also good to do.

First of all I'm glad you are safe...the situation you described could have turned out very badly indeed. Leaving was the obvious right thing to do, and informing your parents/police was a very good reaction too. One small "criticism" or suggestion for the future. It seems from your post that you noticed this guy in his car before leaving the store, and by your account you also found it somewhat unusual that he was sitting by himself in his car in an empty parking lot. This should have been your very first indication that you needed to take some kind of action. I'm not sure of all of the details of the situation, of course, but perhaps remaining inside of the store until he either left, or waiting until there were more people in the parking lot would have been one set of options. Maybe informing someone working in the store of the situation and asking if they could either escort you out or watch you as you leave. Another option even...waiting for another person or group of people to leave the store and walking with or close to them so as to be in a group instead of by yourself. My point is, it seems you noticed something out of place from the beginning and that was the time to listen to the inner voice and find another option than walking through the empty parking lot.
As regards the title of your post...excellent attitude.

Your best weapons are your feet (for running away), your mouth (for shouting) and your brain (for thinking). Steer clear of situations like this, but if approached, shout for help and run away, even if only to the nearest grown-up. In this incident, noticing and remembering a tag number would also have been useful. Stay safe.

Just another suggestion, you can always run into almost any open business and ask for help.
Once upon a time, my girlfriend waved at a guy in a white van while we were driving through Las Vegas and he started to follow us. I tried to lose him for about 20 minutes. Eventually it occured to me that Las Vegas is probably the most heavily fortified place on earth outside of a military base.
I pulled into the next casino and told a security guard - within feet of the front door - what was happening. He was on the radio instantly and the white van left the parking lot within seconds.
Maybe it's like asking for directions but now if I'm worried I go to the closest open business.

Maybe you could ask your sensei to show you some self-defense techniques that anyone could use. My instructor usually does 30-45 mins of self-defense per class. This complements the aikido curriculum, but also shows us some very useful applications that could save our lives. He's shown us how to deal with punches, grabs, even knife attacks. We did some pressure point exercises last week . Like I said, just suggest to your instructor to have a class like that every once in a while. It's really interesting stuff and it helps a lot.